According to The Washington Post, Pastor Robert Baldwin and British missionary Sam Little promoted the fake bleach solution as a medicinal drink to at least 50,000 Ugandans through their charity.

The cure-all called “miracle mineral solution” was handed out by a cohort of religious leaders connected to Baldwin's ministry, Global Healing Christian Missions. Baldwin and Little even claimed the drug could cure cancer, malaria and HIV/AIDS. In a recent Fox News report, the drug was also used as a cure for autism.  

Food and Drug Administration officials have gone on record stating the cure has no known health benefits. “Miracle mineral solution” is comprised of some of the same chemicals used in industrial bleach: sodium chlorite and citric acid. 

In wake of the blowback, Baldwin has shut down operations and denied providing the cure to natives. The Post reports Baldwin was instrumental in administering the drug.

The U.S. Mission is aware of reports that an American pastor based remotely is distributing a substance called “Miracle Mineral Solution” to churches in Uganda. We strongly condemn the distribution of this substance, which is extremely dangerous and is NOT a cure for any disease.

— U.S. Mission Uganda (@usmissionuganda) May 20, 2019

Despite having only nursing training, the pastor allegedly trained 1,200 Ugandan clerics as part of an elaborate network on how to administer the solution. Global Healing Christian Missions held several training sessions for Ugandan church leaders, HuffPost reports. The church leaders were told how to use the MMS solution and administer it to those in need of a quick cure to fatal illnesses. 

Many of them were persuaded to take the drug by the prospect of receiving free smartphones. A church leader would claim the pharmaceutical companies were corrupted by Satan in an attempt to sway parishioners. For example, a pastor can be seen telling his congregation in a video below.

The only way to treat the ailments was to use the MMS solution. Church leaders would then pass out the cure to congregants after Sunday services, New Jersey Advance Media reports. 

Baldwin sang a different tune in an interview with The Guardian. He told the U.K. news outlet he wanted to keep MMS under wraps.

“You have to do it low key. That’s why I set it up through the church,” he said.

Being American helped the pastor promote the drug as well attract a variety of donors for his missionary operations. 

“America has a long tradition of believing they have a lot to offer the world,” he said. “It gives it a kind of legitimacy. They can show pictures of fairly extreme situations to register potential donors.”

When a friend Little knew claimed they were cured by MMS, he came on board and became one of the charity's most visible donors.

“Somebody in my family was cured of cancer with MMS,” Little told The Guardian. “I started researching online and saw more and more videos of people being cured. That’s when I decided to test it myself on malaria and traveled to Africa.”

As Baldwin became more widely known, several countries began to crack down on the MMS drink. The solution is banned in Canada and Ireland.

Additionally, the infamous missionary is facing litigation in the United Kingdom and the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration reported those who have drunk the solution tended to suffer nausea, diarrhea and potentially “life-threatening low blood pressure caused by dehydration.”

MMS has been in the country for at least six years. According to activist and humanitarian Fiona O’Leary, Baldwin came to Uganda with “the Bible in one hand and bleach in the other.” 

“They go to third-world countries because they know they can get away with it,” O'Leary told The Guardian. 

She, along with a host of other activists and critics, is calling for Baldwin's prosecution.